Airlines Air France, Borgo
SS Apostoli 9 (tel 1478.84.466);
Alitalia, Piazza dell'Oro 1 (tel
1478.65.642); British Airways (tel
1478.12.266); Garuda, Via Palagio
degli Spini 1 (tel 055.337.1201);
Lufthansa, Via Lamberti 39r (tel
055.340.838); Meridiana, Lungarno
Vespucci 28r (tel 055.230.2416);
SAS, Lungarno Acciaioli 8 (tel
055.238.2701); TWA, Via Vecchietti
4 (tel 055.239.6856); United, Via
Vecchietti 4 (tel 055.289.460).
Bike, scooter and motorbike
rental There are 17 Bike
Points ( Punti Bici )
around the city (all Mon-Sat
8am-7.30pm) where the council
provides bikes for a nominal
L1000/?0.52 per day in exchange
for a photocopy of your passport,
although you must bring the bikes
back in the evening. Central
locations are: Piazza Stazione,
the Mercato Centrale, Piazza
Cestello, Porta Romana, Piazza
Strozzi, Via della Ninna beside
the Uffizi, and Piazza San Marco.
One of the best commercial outlets
is Florence by Bike, Via San
Zanobi 120r (daily 9am-7.30pm; tel
055.488.992, www.florencebybike.it
): push bikes are L4000/?2.06 per
hour or L20,000/?10.33 per day;
21-gear mountain bikes start from
L30,000/?15.49 per day; electric
scooters are L60,000/?30.99 per
day; and a two-person 125cc
touring scooter is L120,000/?61.97
per day. They have discount
weekend rates, and lower prices
for students. Other similarly
priced outlets include Alinari at
Via Guelfa 85r (tel 055.280.500)
and Via dei Bardi 35 (tel
055.234.6436); and Motorent, Via
San Zanobi 9r (tel 055.490.113).
Books Aside from the
chain bookshops Feltrinelli, Via
Cavour 12r, and Seeber, Via de'
Tornabuoni 68r, good general
outlets are Paperback Exchange,
Via Fiesolana 31r ( www.dada.it/paperback
); BM Bookshop, Borgognissanti 4r;
and After Dark, Via de' Ginori
47r. City Lights, Via San Niccolo
23, concentrates on Beat
literature and organizes plenty of
readings; Il Viaggio, Via
Ghibellina 117r, specializes in
travel books, guides and maps; The
Cinema Bookshop is at Via Guelfa
14r; and Libreria delle Donne, Via
Fiesolana 2b, is a women's
bookshop.
Car rental Avis, Borgo
Ognissanti 128r (tel 055.213.629),
and at the airport (tel
055.315.588); Europcar, Borgo
Ognissanti 53r (tel 055.236.0073
or tel 167.013.942, airport tel
055.318.609); Hertz, Via Maso
Finiguerra 33r (tel 055.239.8205,
airport tel 055.307.370); Holiday
Autos, Via Palagio degli Spini 1 (tel
055.337.1201); Italy by
Car/Thrifty, Borgo Ognissanti 134r
(tel 055.287.161, airport tel
055.300.413); Maggiore/National,
Via Maso Finiguerra 31r (tel
055.210.238 or tel 1478.67.067,
airport tel 055.311.256); Program
(lowest daily rate), Borgo
Ognissanti 135r (tel 055.282.916);
Sixt (airport tel 055.309.790).
City tours Enjoy
Florence (toll-free tel
800.274.819) run walking tours
from the Thomas Cook office at
Lungarno Acciaiuoli 6r (Mon-Sat
10am; L30,000/?15.49; takes 3hr).
Gentle small-group 3-hour bike
tours are run by Florence by Bike,
Via San Zanobi 120r (tel
055.488.992, www.florencebybike.it
; leaving daily 9.15am & 3pm;
L45,000/?23.24).
Consulates Netherlands,
Via Cavour 81 (tel 055.475.249);
South Africa, Piazza Saltarelli 1
(tel 055.281.863); UK, Lungarno
Corsini 2 (tel 055.284.133); USA,
Lungarno Vespucci 38 (tel
055.239.8276). For the Rome
embassies of Australia, Canada,
Ireland and New Zealand.
Exchange Banks are
concentrated around Via de'
Tornabuoni and Piazza della
Repubblica, and some open for a
few hours on Saturday. There are
dozens of exchange kiosks, most
with none-too-favourable rates or
commissions. Try American Express,
Via Dante Alighieri 22r (Mon-Fri
9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm; tel
055.50.981), or Thomas Cook,
Lungarno Acciaiuoli 6r (Mon-Sat
9am-6pm, Sun 9am-2pm; tel
055.289.781 or tel 167.004.488).
Flight information For
flights from Florence-Perètola (Aeroporto
Amerigo Vespucci), call
055.306.1702 (international) or
tel 055.306.1700 (domestic). For
all flights from Pisa (Aeroporto
Galileo Galilei), call
050.500.707, or go to the Air
Terminal check-in desk on platform
5 of Florence's Santa Maria
Novella train station (daily
7am-5pm; tel 055.216.073). You can
buy train tickets here to Pisa
airport (plus a service charge of
L2000/?1.03) and check your bags
in too. The cutoff time is 15min
before the train leaves, and you
must still allow a minimum of
35min at the airport end before
your flight departs in order to
get through passport control and
security. Advance check-in is not
available if you're flying with
Ryanair.
Football Florence's
soccer team, Fiorentina, is one of
Italy's most glamorous sides. They
won the Italian cup in 1996 and
came close to a league
championship in 1999. Games are
played on alternate Sundays
(except in June & July) at
Stadio Artemio Franchi east of
Campo di Marte, served by the
special match-day bus #52 from the
train station. Tickets start at
L30,000/?15.49, but you should
consult the tourist office in
advance about availability.
Gay and lesbian life
Florence's history is scattered
with some of history's greatest
gay and bisexual artists
(Michelangelo, Leonardo and
Botticelli, among others). The
support group Azione Gay e Lesbica
is at Via San Zanobi 54r (tel
055.476.557). Of the handful of
gay- and lesbian-friendly bar/cafés
around town is the arty, relaxed Piccolo
Caffè , Borgo Santa Croce 23r
(daily 5pm-1.30am). The key
men-only venues are Crisco Bar
, Via S. Egidio 43r (Mon &
Wed-Sun 10pm-late) and Tabasco
Disco-Bar , Piazza S. Cecilia
3 (Tues-Sun 10pm-late). The
women's bookshop Libreria delle
Donne, Via Fiesolana 2b, has
contacts and information for
lesbian visitors. Yag , Via
dei Macci, is a gay-friendly
cybercafé and bar.
Internet access Florence
has dozens of cybercafés, all of
which charge around L6000/?3.10
per thirty minutes, and all of
which knock L1000/?0.52 off if you
can show student ID. Long hours,
from mid-morning until late at
night (slightly truncated on
Sundays), are common. Check out Internet
Train , Via Guelfa 24a, Via
Oriuolo 40r, Borgo San Jacopo 30r,
Via de' Benci 36r, or Via
Giacomini 9 ( www.internettrain.it
); The NetGate , Via San
Egidio 10r, Via Cavour 144r, Via
dei Cimatori 17r, or Via Nazionale
156r ( www.thenetgate.it );
MeridiaNet , Borgo San
Frediano 5r (tel 055.264.5507); Odus
Intercomm , Via del Porcellana
20r ( www.odusintercomm.com
); Webpuccino , Via de'
Conti 22r (tel 055.277.6469); or,
if you prefer an iMac, IntoTheWeb
, Via de' Conti 23r (tel
055.264.5628).
Laundry Wash & Dry
is in several central locations
(Via Ghibellina 143r, Via
Nazionale 129r, Via della Scala
52r, Via dei Serragli 87r, Via dei
Servi 105r, and Via del Sole 29r),
all open daily 8am-10pm.
Left luggage There's a
staffed counter at the train
station (daily 4.15am-1.30am;
L5000/?2.58 per piece for 12hr).
Lost property The city
office, Via Circondaria 19
(Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat 9am-noon;
tel 055.328.3942) receives
property handed in to police (tel
055.4977) or the railway police (tel
055.212.296). If you lost items on
a train, call 055.235.2190; at
Vespucci airport tel 055.308.023.
Medical facilities
There's a first aid station on
Piazza Duomo. The Guardia Medica
Turistica, Via Santa Rosa 13
(Mon-Fri 8am-2pm, Sat 8am-1pm; tel
055.228.5789), it charges
L25,000/?12.91 for a consultation.
IAMAT, Via Lorenzo il Magnifico 59
(tel 055.475.411), has
English-speaking doctors on call,
day or night (L150,000/?77.47).
Otherwise, the Ospedale Santa
Maria Nuova, Piazza Santa Maria
Nuova 1 (tel 055.27.581) has a
24hr emergency room. The
Associazione Volontari Ospedalieri
(tel 055.425.0126) are volunteers
on 24hr call who help foreigners
in medical difficulties by
providing advice and interpreting.
Parking The only legal
street parking is in a blue space
(max 2hr, 8am-8pm). Firenze
Parcheggi (tel 055.272.011, www.firenzeparcheggi.it
) controls all city car parks,
including the 24-hour guarded car
park "Parterre" at
Piazza della Libertà; with a chit
from your hotel you pay
L15,000/?7.75 for 24 hours here,
and get free bike rental plus a
voucher for L5000/?2.58 off a taxi
ride. The most central parking is
on Piazza Brunelleschi, northeast
of the duomo (L2000/?1.03 per
hour). There's free parking south
of the river at Piazzale
Michelangelo - watch out for a
long-running scam whereby bogus
parking attendants direct you into
a free space, thus implying
there's a charge (there isn't). If
you've been towed, phone
055.308.249 and be prepared for a
cash fine of L150,000/?77.47.
Pharmacies Comunale
della Stazione inside the train
station (tel 055.289.435); Molteni,
Via Calzaiuoli 7r (tel
055.289.490); and All'Insegna del
Moro, Piazza San Giovanni 20r (tel
055.284.013) are all open 24hr
daily.
Police Emergency:
Carabinieri tel 112; Police tel
113. The tourist police are at Via
Pietrapiana 50r, off Piazza de'
Ciompi (tel 055.203.911). The city
police (emergency tel 055.36.911)
are at the train station, Palazzio
Vecchio and Via delle Terme. The Questura
police HQ, for passport problems,
reporting thefts and so on, is at
Via Zara 2 (tel 055.49.771).
Post office Central post
office is at Via Pellicceria 3
(Mon-Sat 8.15am-6pm; telegram
office open 24hr; poste restante
at counters 23 & 24). Other
post offices are at Via
Pietrapiana 53, Via Cavour 71r,
and Via Barbadori 40r.
Taxis Radio taxis are on
tel 055.4798, tel 055.4242 and tel
055.4390. Main stands are the
train station and Piazza della
Repubblica.
Train information tel
1478.88.088.
